ALP presidency: Incumbent may thwart Shorten’s man

Mark Butler is considering running for a second term as ALP president, challenging the ambitions of Tony Sheldon.

Labor frontbencher Mark Butler. Picture: AAP

Labor frontbencher Mark Butler is considering running for a second term as ALP president in a move that could block the ambitions of right-faction candidate Tony Sheldon.

Mr Sheldon, the Transport Workers Union boss and Bill Shorten ally, announced his candidacy in The Australian yesterday, arguing that the party should focus on policy, not internal rule changes.

Left-faction sources said if Mr Butler chose to run again, he was likely to be the frontrunner, based on his reform credentials and the left’s numerical advantage among the party’s rank and file.

The opposition’s energy and climate change spokesman made headlines this week with a scathing speech calling for an end to “backroom buffoonery” by “self-appointed factional warlords”.

The speech was described as his swan song “but that’s not necessarily the case”, according to a senior figure in Labor’s ­national left.

“Mark is considering his position and would run again if he thought there was not another candidate capable of leading the reform debate.”

The left was yet to consider who its preferred candidate would be, but “there are a lot of people who think (Mark) should run again”, the source said.

Mr Butler may face resistance from parliamentary colleagues if he were to seek a second term as president.

Frontbencher Brendan O’Connor said this week that it was “probably better for the president to not be a front­bencher of federal Labor”.

Mr Butler told ABC radio yesterday that his speech to the ­Fabian Society was a “call to arms” for the party to reform, particularly in Victoria and NSW, by giving more power to rank-and-file members.

“You’ve seen really good reform happen here in South Australia, in Queensland, in Tasmania, in the territories,” he said.

“But in the two big states — particularly in Victoria, I have to say — reform efforts, particularly to give members a vote in selecting Senate candidates, have stalled.”

Mr Sheldon has previously expressed interest in contesting the national presidency and in pursuing a career in parliamentary politics.

But his path was largely blocked, especially when Kevin Rudd was prime minister, because of a TWU “slush fund” controversy in which hundreds of thousands of dollars of alleged training funds, paid for by ­transport companies, were flushed through general union accounts.

Labor sources said yesterday that they believed Mr Sheldon’s run for the party presidency with support from the ALP right was not part of the deal to back away from challenging former NSW premier Kristina Keneally for the Senate seat to be vacated by Sam Dastyari.